Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Armenia and Azerbaijan: Peace Negotiations

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they are making to the government of Azerbaijan about (1) that government’s artillery, mortar and drone attack on the village of Sotk in Armenia on 11 May, and (2) the continuing blockade of the Lachin Corridor, which has isolated at least four local communities; and whether they will consult the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the International Committee of the Red Cross about effective remedies.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Although we have not specifically raised the 11 May incident in Sotk with the Azerbaijani government, the UK's longstanding position is that there is no military solution to this conflict and that Armenia and Azerbaijan must engage in substantive negotiations, without preconditions, to secure a sustainable peaceful settlement. The Minister for Europe Leo Docherty underlined this message when he visited Baku in February, and I, [Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon], met with the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister in Reykjavik on 17 May, where he raised the importance of unfettered access to the Lachin Corridor and encouraged continued negotiations with Armenia. The UK Government will continue to support constructive dialogue in further contacts with the Armenian and Azerbaijani governments in the coming months. We have called for the reopening of the Lachin corridor through interventions at the OSCE and are in close contact with humanitarian agencies about the situation on the ground, including the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Refugees: International Assistance

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government what partnership arrangements they have in place to make progress on priority areas for the 2023 Global Refugee Forum.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: We are working with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and other relevant humanitarian and development agencies on our preparations for the Global Refugee Forum. As we develop the UK's pledges for the Forum, we will look to match these with host countries, donors, and other relevant partners, wherever possible.

Development Aid: Education

Lord German: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support the development of free, quality, public education systems in the developing world, particularly in areas where state provision is weak or non-existent.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: We have bilateral education programmes in 19 countries. FCDO projects work closely with governments where state provision is weak, using UK-led research on what works to influence policy on how to reach the most marginalised, particularly girls. The Girls' Education Challenge programme has supported over 1.5 million children to receive education since 2012. We are the largest donor to the Global Partnership for Education which works with governments, including in fragile and conflict affected countries, to strengthen government education systems. In February, we announced a new pledge of £80 million to Education Cannot Wait, the global fund for education in emergencies.

Development Aid: Education

Lord German: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Independent Commission for Aid Impact’s 2022 report on UK aid’s results in education, and their official response to that report, what progress they have made in reforming and improving their capacity to assess the impact of their basic education programmes on improving foundational learning outcomes for children in partner countries.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The 2022 Independent Commission for Aid Impact report recommended FCDO accelerate work with partner governments to improve its ability to collect and use reliable data on children's learning. As a result, we developed a new Data for Foundational Learning programme, of up to £27 million (2023 - 2027), to strengthen the data on children's learning in low- and middle-income countries. This programme started implementation in March 2023. Through the Global Coalition for Foundational Learning, we are promoting a shared commitment to foundational learning for all. Additionally, we are improving our internal results framework to better measure impact on improving learning.

Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda: Floods

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recent flooding in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda; and what humanitarian and financial support they are providing in response.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: We are saddened by the loss of life in Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda which was caused by the devastating floods and landslides. The NGO consortium START, which the UK part funds, has committed £300k to the Rwanda flood response which will be implemented by Trócaire. START have also given £400k to the DRC flood response, to provide those who have lost their homes and livelihoods with cash to buy food and other basics for survival. In DRC the Red Cross, funded by the UK, are supporting with the recovery of bodies, and reuniting unaccompanied children with their families. The Minister of State for Development and Africa has sent WhatsApp messages to DRC Foreign Minister Lutundula and Rwandan Foreign Minister offering UK support and condolences.

India: Christianity

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Aid to the Church in Need, Persecuted and Forgotten?, published on 16 November 2022, which estimates that there have been 710 incidents of anti-Christian violence in India between January 2021 and June 2022; and whether they intend to discuss the report with the Indian High Commissioner to the UK.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK Government has a broad and deep partnership with the Government of India and we discuss all elements of our relationship. We remain committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all and promoting respect and tolerance between communities. Where we have issues, we raise them directly with the Government of India, including at Ministerial level.  I regularly speak to the High Commissioner of India. Human rights forms part of that dialogue. Our High Commissioner has visited a number of diverse places of worship in India, meeting faith leaders there, including Christian communities.

Department for Education

Pupils: Asylum

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government what background information is given to schools about the situation in the home countries of pupils who have arrived in the UK as asylum seekers or refugees.

Baroness Barran: The department does not provide information on the situation in other countries to schools educating children who are asylum seekers and refugees.The circumstances for civilians in many conflict zones are widely reported upon in the media and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office publishes brief profiles for each foreign nation. These profiles can be found at: https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/6e1f22a9-feb9-49d8-8e61-8fc19764480a/fco-country-profiles.

Pupils: Transgender People

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask His Majesty's Government whether their forthcoming guidance for schools on gender identity will protect teachers who raise safeguarding concerns about the gender transition of a pupil.

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask His Majesty's Government whether their forthcoming guidance for schools on gender identity will make provision for teachers who in conscience wish to refer to pupils by their legal and/or biological gender.

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask His Majesty's Government whether their forthcoming guidance for schools on gender identity will take into account the expert evidence cited by Nigel and Sally Rowe in their legal case against the Department for Education which reported harmful effects from affirming children in gender transition.

Baroness Barran: The Department believes that all pupils should be supported whilst growing up. Our schools, colleges and teachers are committed to supporting all pupils and students to thrive and reach their potential in a safe and respectful environment.All schools and colleges must have regard to the Department’s ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE)’ statutory guidance, when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. The KCSIE statutory guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2.The Department is working with the Minister for Women and Equalities to develop guidance for schools in relation to supporting gender questioning pupils. The Department will consider all the evidence, including any relevant cases, such as Mr and Mrs Rowes’. However, we cannot comment further on what the guidance will or will not contain, as we will shortly be holding a full public consultation on our proposed approach.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Food: Production

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to (1) maximise food production in the UK, and (2) enhance food security.

Lord Benyon: The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain, as demonstrated throughout the Covid-19 response. It is well equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption. Our high degree of food security is built on supply from diverse sources; strong domestic production as well as imports through stable trade routes. We produce 61% of all the food we need, and 74% of food which we can grow or rear in the UK for all or part of the year, and these figures have changed little over the last 20 years. The Government committed to broadly maintain current levels of domestic food production in its Food Strategy, which also set out what we will do to create a more prosperous agri-food sector. We have taken several steps to support the long-term resilience and profitability of the agricultural sector. For example, we are making Direct Payments in England in two instalments each year for the remainder of the agricultural transition period, to help farmers with their cashflow; we are committed to spend around £600 million on grants and other support for farmers to invest in productivity, animal health and welfare, innovation over three years; and we have provided 10,000 farmers with help and advice through the Future Farming Resilience Fund, which provides farmers with free advice to help farmers work out what to do for their business. Recognising the importance of food security, in the Agriculture Act 2020, the Government made a commitment to produce an assessment of our food security at least once every three years. The first UK Food Security Report was published in December 2021. It recognises the contribution made by British farmers to our resilience and considers the UK's food supply sources overall, noting that domestic production and diversity of supply are both important to our food security. The next Food Security Report will be published in 2024.

Nature Conservation: EU Law

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government whatare their current plans for exercising powers to be granted to them under the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Repeal) Bill in relation to the Habitats Directive.

Lord Benyon: Defra has been clear in its commitments to uphold and not weaken environmental protections. That is why our approach has always been to keep REUL, unless there is a good reason to either remove it from the statute book or reform it. That approach is now also reflected in the legislation, as the recently tabled Government amendment will mean that REUL is retained unless it is specifically cited in the revocation schedule. The Habitats Regulations are not on the schedule and therefore will not be revoked by the Bill. Defra is carefully considering the use of REUL Bill powers in the context of the Habitats Regulations.We remain committed to our ambitious plans of the Net Zero Strategy and the Environment Improvement Plan 2023. We are clear that any REUL reform must be consistent with international obligations, including the various Multilateral Environment Agreements we are signatory to, such as the Bern Convention and the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Ash Dieback Disease

The Lord Bishop of Exeter: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of spread of ash dieback; and what preventative measures are being put in place to minimise the impact.

Lord Benyon: The fungus responsible for ash dieback disease can spread up to 75km via air borne spores. It is not possible to limit the spread of the disease at a national level, and it is now present in all counties, moving across the country at the expected rate from modelling by Cambridge University. There are an estimated 125 million ash trees in UK woodlands and up to 60 million ash trees outside of woodlands. From observations in Europe and the UK, we expect 1-5% of these trees to be naturally resistant to the disease.The disease progresses quickly in young trees, trees growing in stressed conditions and ash dominated woodlands with higher levels of leaf litter and spore loads. Removal of leaf litter may be an effective way to limit the spread in certain conditions, for example around high value trees in urban environments.The Government has published guidance for landowners on managing diseased ash, including a toolkit for Local Authorities, which has been downloaded nearly 20,000 times. Through the Local Authority Treescapes Fund, Defra funds treescape restoration with alternative species. Since 2021, over £15 million has been awarded through this fund. Countryside Stewardship tree health woodland grants also provide funds for private landowners to restock after felling due to ash dieback, and we are piloting grants that provide financial support for ecological surveys and road closures.The Government has invested more than £8 million into ash dieback research, including the world’s largest screening trials for resistant trees. 1000 genotypes drawn from a wide geographic spread and genetic diversity are being tested for resistance to facilitate the possibility of a future breeding programme of resilient ash.

Highly Protected Marine Areas

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to extend the number of Highly Protected Marine Areas; and what is their timetable for the associated consultation.

Lord Benyon: In February 2023 the Government announced it would designate three Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) in English Waters before 6th July 2023. The Government will begin exploring additional HPMAs this year. Any future sites would be subject to consultation as required by the Marine and Coastal Access Act.

Agriculture

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to strengthen the long-term (1) resilience, and (2) sustainability, of the agricultural sector in the UK.

Lord Benyon: As agriculture is a devolved matter, the resilience and sustainability of the agricultural sector in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are matters for their respective devolved administrations. In England, the Government has taken a number of steps to strengthen the long-term resilience and sustainability of the agricultural sector. We are offering ongoing payments and one-off grants to improve farm productivity, benefit the environment and support sustainable food production. We have already seen the number of agreements in Countryside Stewardship increase by 94 per cent since 2020 and now almost one third of farm holdings are in an agri-environmental scheme. Landscape Recovery was also hugely oversubscribed, with all projects involving farmers including tenants, and we opened applications to the next round of farmers and land managers on 18 May 2023. The Sustainable Farming Incentive will open with a new and improved, expanded offer later in summer 2023. Many farmers have also already applied for £168 million of grant funding available this year to support investments in productivity, animal health and welfare and the environment. Farmers affected by the phasing out of Direct Payments can also receive free business advice and support through the Future Farming Resilience Fund. Furthermore, at our recent UK Farm to Fork Summit we announced: A further £12.5 million is being made available in May to support research projects that will support environmental sustainability and resilience on farmsAdditional investment of up to around £30 million to unlock the potential of precision breedingA working group to bring plant breeders, food manufacturers and retailers together to agree an approach that enables these products to reach our shelves. Beyond this, we have invested £8 million in research through our crop Genetic Improvement Networks over the last five years to improve UK food security and environmental outcomes. We will build upon this through substantial additional investment to unlock the potential of precision breeding, following royal assent for the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act.We have also launched three farming innovation competitions since January this year, providing a total of £21.5 million of funding. These measures will enable our future food and farming sector to be more productive and resilient thanks to British science and innovation. We will continue to work closely with the Food and Drink Sector Council, which brings together leaders across the whole of the agri-food chain and across government, on the issues that it plans to focus on for the next year including: the future of food; sustainability; workforce challenges; and supply resilience.

Ivory Act 2018: Northern Ireland

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government whether the extension of provisions of protection of five additional species under the Ivory Act 2018 will extend to Northern Ireland.

Lord Benyon: The Ivory Act 2018 applies to the United Kingdom. When the Act is extended to cover the five additional ivory-bearing species, it will apply to Northern Ireland.

Saltmarshes: Carbon Capture and Storage

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to provide financial support for the (1) research, and (2) delivery, of saltmarsh restoration projects, to contribute to the national evidence base on carbon sequestration.

Lord Benyon: Through the UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership, Defra is working with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero alongside the other UK Administrations to address key research questions relating to blue carbon habitats, such as saltmarsh. In 2022, the UK Government launched its £140 million Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment programme, a flagship three-year R&D programme, spanning England’s land, coast and sea. The programme includes mapping of blue carbon stock and sequestration rates in important coastal environments such as saltmarsh habitats, alongside wider ecosystem services which provide societal, ecological and economic benefit. The Environment Agency’s (EA) Restoring Meadow, Marsh and Reef (ReMeMaRe) initiative is working to restore our estuarine and coastal habitats to benefit people and nature. The EA’s restoration handbooks are a key tool to support restoration of coastal blue carbon habitats in the UK and beyond. The Government is also supporting eight blue nature finance projects, including blue carbon, with around £750,000 of grants through the Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund. This funding is being used to develop a pipeline of projects that can demonstrate viable private-sector investment models, ultimately working to restore important blue habitats such as saltmarsh. In addition, our £80 million Green Recovery Challenge Fund has supported a range of nature recovery projects across England, five of which have included saltmarsh restoration.

Natural England

Lord Lee of Trafford: To ask His Majesty's Government what is the annual budget of Natural England; and how many people it employs.

Lord Benyon: In 2022/23, Natural England’s (NE) annual budget allocation was £190m (this increased to £226.9m by the end of the financial year). NE has received an increased allocation of £260m in 2023/24. NE staff in post as of September 2022 is 2,769 Full Time Equivalents (FTE), with a cap of 2,980 FTE for the next two financial years.

Ministry of Defence

Military Bases: Gaming Machines

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government how many gambling or gaming machines are present on military bases in the UK.

Baroness Goldie: I can confirm that some gambling and gaming machines are present on military bases in the UK. Whilst I am unable to advise precisely how many there are as this information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost, I would wish to provide reassurance that work is underway to understand the scale of problem gambling within the Armed Forces and to address it accordingly.

Department of Health and Social Care

Health Services: Older People

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: To ask His Majesty's Government why the NHS Health Check is not being offered to people over 74.

Lord Markham: A person aged 75 years old or over is not eligible for an NHS Health Check because they can request a health check from their accountable general practitioner. This is a requirement of NHS England’s Standard General Medical Services Contract.

Health: Screening

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: To ask His Majesty's Government what was the uptake of the NHS Health Check in each of the pastfive years; and how oftenpatients are being checked under that programme on average.

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: To ask His Majesty's Government whether patients' mobility is monitored as part of the NHS Health Check.

Lord Markham: The proportion of people taking up the offer of an NHS Health Check between April 2017 and March 2018 was 47.9%, April 2018 and March 2019 was 45.9%, April 2019 and March 2020 was 43.7%%, April 2020 and March 2021 was 39% and April 2021 to March 2022 was 40.5%.Individuals aged between 40 to 74 are eligible for an NHS Health Check every five years however the Department does not collect data on individual patients. Patients' mobility is not monitored as part of the NHS Health Check.

Department for Transport

Aviation: Anti-social Behaviour

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment theyhave made of incidents of disruptive air passengers and their impact on airlines and the travelling public; and what steps they intend to take to reduce such incidents.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Incidents of disruptive air passengers remain rare. The Government’s view is that the existing legislation and industry powers to deal with disruptive passengers, including financial penalties are robust enough to deal with disruptive passengers.

Motor Vehicles: Testing

Viscount Waverley: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the proposed one-year increase to the first date most road vehicles are MOT-tested on the safety of intensively used road vehicles.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Department ran a consultation between 18 January and 22 March on the proposal to defer the date of a light vehicle’s first MOT from three to four years. The results of the consultation are currently being considered by ministers and a response will be issued in due course. The impact assessment and its annex include a full consideration of the potential decrease in road safety due to more time and mileage passing before a vehicle’s first MOT under a one-year increase to the first date. The analysis found that the level of casualties involved in collisions caused by vehicle defects could increase by 1 - 4%, but this represents a much smaller magnitude when compared to overall collisions (around 0.01 - 0.05%). The published impact assessment also outlines assumptions and limitations of the analysis.

Quad Bikes: Safety

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the safety of quad bikes.

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government whatsteps they will take, if any, to introduce regulations which enable the provision of roll bars on quad bikes.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The technical requirements for quad bikes depends on their intended use. Road or agricultural bikes must be type approved, while those classed as machinery need to meet the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008. Following research by the Health and Safety Executive in Great Britain (HSE) the advice for quad bikes used in workplace settings is that ROPS are not recommended. It was shown that ROPS may lead to an increased risk of injury in the event of an overturn by either preventing the operator from separating from the machine or striking the operator as the machine overturns. The Government plans to consult on replacing the current, interim, approval scheme for road and agricultural quads, with a full type GB scheme. Any new evidence supplied during this process will be given consideration.

Railway Stations: Repairs and Maintenance

Lord Carrington of Fulham: To ask His Majesty's Government what funding they make available to Network Rail for upgrades to railway termini essential for (1) accessibility, and (2) public safety.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Accessibility and public safety are central to all investment projects at termini stations. The Department for Transport sees accessibility improvements across the network as a priority and is continuing to invest significant sums to ensure accessibility to the network is improved for all users. The DfT supported Access for All programme, launched in 2006, has provided step free, accessible routes at over 200 stations and smaller scale access improvements at 1500 more. We are currently assessing over 300 stations nominated for the next tranche of Access for All projects. The Department expects the industry to comply with all relevant accessibility and safety standards whenever work is carried out.

Railways: Postal Services

Lord Bradshaw: To ask His Majesty's Government how much is spent at present in subsidies for rail freight, including for the development of express parcel delivery traffic.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Domestic and international rail freight services are private operations run on a commercial basis. The Government provides some limited support in specific areas. The Government incentivises modal shift from road to rail through the £20 million per year Mode Shift Revenue Support scheme. The Government provided £2.155 million to rail freight projects through the First of a kind competition for cutting edge ideas to help transform the railway. These projects include rail freight express parcel delivery. DfT also contributes to some of the Operations, Maintenance and Renewals Charges (OMRC) charges for international freight trains using the Channel Tunnel under the terms of the commercial agreements which established the Channel Tunnel. This amount is variable but is approximately £13m per year.

Network Rail: Finance

Lord Carrington of Fulham: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they require Network Rail to maximise income generation at each site within its estate, regardless of heritage or other impacts; and if so, whether they will publish that policy.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: There is no such policy. Network Rail is a publicly funded body, subject to Managing Public Money guidance on public spending and private finance and is held to account by The Office of Rail and Road (ORR). The ORR determines how much money Network Rail needs to run the business efficiently and to deliver the infrastructure for the UK and Scottish Governments. Business plans across the regions and its estate focus on delivering a better experience for passengers and customers. Where projects with a strong commercial case can attract private investment to deliver a better railway, this allows public funding to be invested in other areas of the network. Network Rail follows all guidance and regulations to ensure such partnerships are fully compliant with rules governing public bodies, as set out in its Framework Agreement with the Department for Transport.

Network Rail: Repairs and Maintenance

Lord Carrington of Fulham: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have guidance in place preventing Network Rail from using the proceeds resulting from developing those parts of its estate with little or no heritage impact to fund high-cost improvements at sensitive heritage locations.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Any money that Network Rail makes from its property estate is reinvested into the overall running costs of the network and isn't ring fenced. Network Rail’s funding settlement targets them with generating improved returns from the estate which means they need less funding from Government to run the railway. As well as the commercial return the development proposals also focus on supporting a better experience for passengers and customers and are designed for each individual location and its specific needs.

Network Rail: Contracts

Lord Carrington of Fulham: To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance applies to Network Rail entering into contracts with private companies to develop publicly owned assets for private profit; and whether a public tender for contracts is required.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Network Rail is subject to the Government's Managing Public Money Guidance on use of private finance and to public procurement rules.

Liverpool Street Station: Repairs and Maintenance

Lord Carrington of Fulham: To ask His Majesty's Government whether Network Rail has requested Government funding for the proposed redevelopment of Liverpool Street Station, in particular for (1) additional lifts and escalators, and (2) the enlargement of the first-floor mezzanine level, to provide a separate route through the station on a different level to the gate line of ticket barriers.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Department for Transport has provided over £11m to increase station capacity and improve passenger experience at Liverpool Street station. The scheme will provide an additional 21 ticket gates and rationalise station office and retail spaces, allowing passengers to move more easily through the station.

Elizabeth Line: Liverpool Street Station

Lord Carrington of Fulham: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of the impact of the full opening of the Elizabeth Line on passenger interchange numbers at Liverpool Street Station; and if so, what impact is expected.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: DfT and TfL have jointly commissioned a study to provide early evidence of the transport impacts of the Elizabeth line. As part of this, we are looking at ticketing data to assess demand on specific routes through the network. We expect to publish initial findings in 2024.

Network Rail: Liverpool Street Station

Lord Carrington of Fulham: To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the total income that has been generated by Network Rail's estate at Liverpool Street station over each of the past five years.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Department for Transport does not hold this information; we would suggest addressing this query directly to Network Rail.

Science and Technology: Logistics

Viscount Waverley: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact on innovation in the logistics sector of the Pioneer prospectus.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Innovation is vital to the UK freight and logistics sector, and the Government has facilitated and will continue to promote innovation in logistics. The Government is pursuing association with the Horizon Europe scheme. The Pioneer prospectus is a bold and ambitious alternative. No assessment of its impact on freight and logistics innovation specifically has been undertaken. The Department for Transport’s (DfT) Science, Innovation and Technology division, with the support of the DfT Chief Scientific Adviser, will continue to work with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to represent DfT’s innovation priorities.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Energy: Subsidies

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Callanan on 15 May (HL7507), what was the cost of subsidies to households and businesses for energy billsin each month from December 2021 to present.

Lord Callanan: The information provided in my previous response is not available broken down by month.

Cabinet Office

Ministers: Aviation

Lord Harris of Haringey: To ask His Majesty's Government which Ministers, including those at Cabinet level, have used private aircraft on official business during the past 12 months; and, for each journey, what were (1) the destinations travelled to and from, (2) the dates, and (3) the cost of travel.

Lord Harris of Haringey: To ask His Majesty's Government which Ministers, including those at Cabinet level, have used military aircraft during the past 12 months; and, for each journey, what were (1) the destinations travelled to and from, (2) the dates, and (3) the cost of travel.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government publishes details of all Ministers' overseas travel on a quarterly basis. The other information requested is not centrally held and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. It has also been the practice of successive administrations not to publish granular information relating to the official movements of protected individuals and those accompanying them within the United Kingdom.

Emergencies: Contracts for Services

Baroness Altmann: To ask His Majesty's Government how many companiesprovided bids for the contract to run their new emergency alert system.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Following a compliant procurement process through Crown Commercial Services Tech Services 3 framework RM6100, the WP2083 Emergency Alerts contract was awarded on 10 October 2022 to Fujitsu. 2 suppliers provided bids for the contract to run the new emergency alerts system. The Cabinet Office operates a triple gateway process of approvals to ensure compliance and transparency in procurements. All contracts are reviewed and approved by delegated Cabinet Office Commercial Heads and then published. All procurements over £10,000 are subject to Commercial approvals. All contracts are then managed by accredited Contract Managers in accordance with Cabinet Office Commercial guidance. Contract agreements are published within 30 days in accordance with our obligations. Separately, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (as was) issued contracts totalling £18.6 million to mobile network operators, as well as further spending on security testing and legal work.

Department for Work and Pensions

Employment Schemes

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government how nationalemployment support is (1) targeted, and (2) funded.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: DWP has a wide range of support available for job seekers. Delivered primarily through the Jobcentre Plus network and centrally funded, the Department provides personal tailored employment advice to match people to suitable job vacancies through our network of jobcentres. More intensive targeted support for specific groups, like young people and over 50s, is also provided through the Jobcentre Plus offer.In addition, the Department provides nationally contracted support in England and Wales for individuals who need additional support to find work beyond that provided by the Jobcentre Plus offer. This includes the Work and Health Programme, Intensive Personalised Employment Support and Restart for people who are eligible and suitable. Contracted employment support for disabled people and people at risk of long-term unemployment is devolved as part of 2016 Scotland Act.Spring Budget announced an investment of £3.5bn over 5 years in DWP measures to boost workforce participation. This includes investment to support disabled people and those with long-term health conditions, parents, over-50s, unemployed people and people on Universal Credit and working fewer than full-time hours.